George s



(No Model.) I

G. S. OHAMBERLIN. BOTTLE STOPPER.

No. 498,003. Patented May 23, 1893.

INVENTOH A 7TOHNE Y.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE S. CI-IAMBERLIN, OF NEWV YORK, N. Y.

BOTTLE-STOPPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 498,003, dated May 23,1893.

Application filed December 13,1892- gerial No. 455,025- (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE S. OHAMBEa LIN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inBottle-Stoppers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to theletters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of thisspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in bottle-stoppers and particularlyto those used on bottles containing aerated beverages, but I do notlimit the application of the stopper to any special kind of bottle orits contents.

I am aware that it is not broadly new to provide automatic devices forclosing bottles containing effervescent liquors, but all of these, asfar as I know, will permit the accumulation of dust and foreign matteraround the mouth of the bottle and cork, which mingles with the liquorwhile the latter is being delivered; and these devices also permit moreor less of the gas in the liquor to escape during the process of fillingand afterward.

The object of my invention is to avoid these objectionable features andprovide a simple device for protecting the mouth of the bottle fromdust, &c., and which will also permit the bottle to be rapidly filledwithout removing the device and hermetically seal the bottle after beingfilled, at all times effectually preventing the escape of the gas andliquor.

With these and other ends in view the invention contemplates a capadapted to be socured over the mouth of a bottle and having an openingin its top, a combined gasket and valve or disk arranged beneath thecap, the valve or disk being adapted to close the opening in the cap,and suitable passages between the gasket and valve or disk through whichthe liquor passes when the bottle is being filled, all as hereinaftermore fully described and claimed.

To enable others to more readily understand myinvention,Ihaveillustratedthesame in the accompanying drawings, inwhich-- Figure 1. is a sectional view illustrating my invention andshowing the position of the parts when the bottle is being filled. Fig.2, is a sectional view taken on the line a2-a2 of Fig. 3 and showing theposition of the stopper after the bottle has been filled with liquor.Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the bottle and stopper; and Figs. 4 and 5are detail views of the combined gasket and valve or disk.

Referring to the drawings, in which like letters of referencedenotecorresponding parts in all the figures, A designates abottle ofany preferred construction, and B the cap which is adapted to be tightlyscrewed on the threaded portion a of the bottle-neck. I have found thatthe screw-cap illustrated in the drawings forms a very tight joint onthe threaded bottle-neck, but it is obvious that other means forsecuring the cap in place may be employed without departing from thespirit of my invention.

In the top of the cap Bis an opening 0, the diameter of which ispreferably less than the diameter of the opening in the bottle-neck, thepurpose of which opening will appear hereinafter.

The preferred form of my combined gasket and valve or disk is shown indetail in Fig. 4, and it comprises the outer ring or gasket D and thevalve or disk (1 arranged within the gasket and connected thereto,preferably, by the integral strips d". The valve or disk d is largerthan the opening 0 in the cap, so that it will effectually close thesame when pressed against it by the liquor in the bottle, and the gasketD conforms in general outline, approximately, to the top of thebottleneck, and it will be pressed tightly against the bottle by the capand fornr an air and water tight joint. Between the gasket and valve ordisk are passages (1' through which the liquor passes into the bottlewhenthe latter is being filled.

In practice, the cap is screwed tightly on the bottle, the gasket andvalve having first been arranged in proper position either in the cap orover the mouth of the bottle. The gasket is thus clamped tightly betweenthe cap and the bottle to form an air and water tight joint, and thevalve or disk assumes its position under the opening 0 to close thesame. The bottle is then ready to be filled which may be done by avariety of different IOO methods, one of which I have illustrated inFig. 1.. This figure shows the bottle inverted and the cap forced into afunnel E lined with some resilient material to prevent the escape of theliquor and gas as it is forced up into the bottle. By this method theliquor passes up through the opening 0 in the cap and against the valveor disk d, which in turn, is forced into the bottle to permit the liquorto enter through the passages d. The strips cl hold the valve or disk inits proper position or otherwise the pressure of the liquor might forcethe valve or disk out of place so that it would not return to its normalposition under the opening 0 and close the same. But the combined gasketand valve or disk are preferably made integral, of some elasticmaterial, and the strips 61' permit the disk to be forced away from thecap, as described and illustrated in Fig. 2, and at the same timeprevent the same from being displaced.

When the bottle has been filled :and the filling apparatus removed, theinherent elasticity 0f the strips 01 will return the valve or disk toits proper position against the cap, over the opening 0, and thepressure of the water will hold the valve or disk firmly in place, thuseffectually sealing the bottle.

By the use of my improved device it is obvious that the bottle will behermetically sealed to prevent the escape of its contents, and the topof the bottle is fully protected by the cap against the accumulationofforeign matter, so that when the combined gasket and valve or disk andcap are removed the lips of the bottle are perfectly clean and free fromdust, &c. The improved stopper also prevents the escape of the gas inthe liquor as the combined gasketand valve or disk makes a perfectlytight joint between the cap and bottle.

In Fig. 5 I have shown a modification of my invention wherein the gasketand valve are integral. and the passages d omitted, the valve being madein the shape of a cone F and having two or more slits f intersecting atthe apex of the cone. The operation of this valve is substantiallysimilar to that of the valve hereinbefore described, the slits fpermitting the liqnor to pass into the bottle.

I am aware that changes in the form and proportion of parts and detailsof construction of my invention may be made without departing from thespirit or sacrificing the advantages thereof, and I therefore reservethe right to make such changes as fairly fall within the scope of theinvention.

Having thus fully described my invention, What I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a bottle stopper, a cap adapted to be secured on the bottle neckand having an opening in its top,a gasket clamped between the bottle andthe cap, a valve arranged to close the opening in the cap by the upwardpressure of the liquor in the bottle and connected with the gasket byelastic strips which hold said valve in its proper position across theopening in the cap, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination with a bottle, of a cap secured thereon and having anopening in its top, a combined gasket and valve arranged between the capand bottle, the passages between said gasket and valve and the elasticstrips connecting the gasket and the valve and adapted to hold thelatter in its proper normal position over the opening in the cap,substantially as described. I

In testimony whereof I affiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE S. CHAMBERLIN. Witnesses:

HERMAN GUsTow, WM. 0. BELT.

